Solar panel location

[tarik]

Evening all,

Next week end I'll be fixing my solar panel on top of the wheel house, it is inevitable that on occasions the shadow from the mainsail will fall over panel for a period of time, just how critical is the need to have direct access to sunlight, does the panel not also work on daylight as well??

Totally confused, as ever many thanks to all who reply.

David

 

[ProDave]

Depends on the panel. Some are very fussy about a shaddow over even part of the panel. On the other hand, the one on offer at Maplin until recently, that I and many others bought, seems to not be bothered very much by shadows, and still provides some output even in just "daylight"

 

[VicMallows]

As ProDave says depends on the type of panel. I have recently bought a pair of 40W monocrystalline panels (the sort used on houses) and can confirm that any sort of shadow cuts the output dramatically. I've been experimenting with location on the boat and have concluded that it's far better to have one panel completely unobstructed at any given time than two each of which have a slight shadow.

Vic